He was a famous trumpet man from old Chicago way

He had a boogie style that no one else could play

He was the top man at his craft

But then his number came up and he was gone with the draft

He’s in the army now, a-blowin’ reveille

He’s the boogie-woogie bugle boy of Company B

 Well, of course the bugling that Jen and I listened to this past weekend wasn’t boogie-woogie, but we wouldn’t have enjoyed it more if it were.

We went – along with what seemed like most of the residents of the Front Range – to Rocky Mountain National Park to hear the elk bugle. Man, did we EVER get a show. You would have thought they were playing back-up to Louie Armstrong.

Jen and I try to go every year, but missed last year. We also try to hike every year at least once, but we hadn’t yet had a chance. We looked at the weather forecast and made our plans accordingly. It was a perfect fall day.

For those of you not familiar with elk bugling, it’s the call that the bull elk give the cows as they gather their herd in preparation for mating season. Think of it as a singles bar for elk. The bugling generally begins at dusk and goes on until dark. Whatever it is the bulls are saying with the ethereal sound, it works. The herds were large, likely because we are reaching the end of the season.

Here is a sample so you can get an idea of just how ethereal the sound is….

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYzWmKlZtrU

We didn’t get to the Cub Lake trailhead until 2:30 or so, but the good news was that many of the hikers were done for the day, so there was parking available. There were also herds of elk all around us. They come down from the high country this time of year to mate. I don’t know why they don’t mate high in the mountains. Ask them.

Our hiking trail hugged a meadow filled with elk. We literally spent the entire afternoon and evening with a single herd of elk, led by one big bull. And he didn’t bother to wait until dusk to begin his performance. He bugled all afternoon and into the evening. His herd of cows were rolling their eyes.

As we left to go back to our hotel room, we drove past several other herds of elk. As we passed a particularly large herd, Jen asked me, “When do they start, er, dating?” I happened to glance over at the herd, and quickly replied, “Ah, I would say dating has begun.” I didn’t shoot a photo of that particular experience as I feel a little privacy was in order.

One of the best things about leaf and elk peeping is the people watching. There were probably 100 people just at the spot where we plopped ourselves post hike. Some settle in for the evening….

A large gathering brought an entire picnic to enjoy as they listened to the elk performance.

All in all, it was a wonderful day, and I want to share some of my photos with you.

This photo will give you an idea of the numbers of tourists. Crazy.

Our hike took us around this meadow, so we listened and watched this herd for quite some time.